To better understand the landmark teachings of the Second Vatican Council, this series will break down its 16 documents into a clear hierarchy of constitutions, decrees, and declarations, illustrating how the Church balanced timeless traditions.

Explore the unmerited gift of God’s own life and how His "grace upon grace" bridges the infinite gap to transform us into adopted children of the Father.

The councils get their name from the Greek word oikoumene, meaning “the whole inhabited world.”

Including the passion, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, the Paschal Mystery encompasses all that Christ did to redeem us.

The final theme of Catholic Social Teaching that we will examine in this series is care for creation.

St. John Paul II described the common good as both the good of the whole of humanity and each individual.

Let us consider the Catholic Social Teaching themes of the dignity of work and the rights of workers.

Catholic Social Teaching emphasizes the equal dignity and value of every human person.

With this image of the bridge in mind, let’s turn our attention to what CST posits about the rights of each person.

To understand the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, it might be helpful to first reflect on the truth that we exist in relationship with others.

Life and Dignity of the Human Person.

The virtue of chastity falls under the cardinal virtue of temperance.

For when man becomes his own God…this self-idolatry becomes so arrogantly irrational that it demands the life of every human being as its victim.”

In this column, we’ll explore the ill effects of envy and the antidote we find in its contrary virtue, charity.

This month, we’ll examine the virtue of generosity and how it helps us conquer another “deadly” (so-called because it gives rise to other vices) sin: avarice.

Patience, or forbearance, is the virtue we need if we are going to overcome the deadly sin of wrath.

This month, we’ll discuss how the virtue of temperance can help us overcome the “deadly” (so-called because it gives rise to other vices) sin of gluttony.

In the spiritual life, virtues and vices compete

As we conclude our exploration of prayer, let us remember that prayer is the turning of the body, mind and spirit to God in an intimate way.

Certain “worldly” attitudes, seasons of spiritual dryness, acedia (or sloth), distraction and lack of faith can all undermine our life of prayer.

Prayer is a gift of God’s grace to us. It is not something we merit. Consequently, prayer calls for our response.

Contemplative prayer is first and foremost a gift, a grace. Consequently, we must receive it in humility and a poverty of spirit.

Christian meditative prayer differs from many of the Eastern meditation practices which seek to empty the mind.

One of the three major expressions of prayer offered to us by our Catholic Tradition is vocal prayer.

Communion is both the source of and destiny planned for humanity.